What’s that seismic rumbling? The vibration of 10 million pumpkins rolling down the 405? No, (well maybe, but that’s not what we’re talking about here).  What you’re feeling is the pretend earthquake of the Great American Shakeout, a drill being held Thursday to help kids learn to drop, cover, and hold in the event of a genuine temblor. At 10:20AM schools, businesses, and community groups throughout the Southland are practicing what to do when the Big One (or a medium one) strikes.

Once the dust settles, you’ll find no shortage of things to do this weekend.  Halloween draws ever closer, and our calendar reflects that. The weekend is filled with pumpkins, pumpkins, and more pumpkins, two scary aquariums, and quite a few Día de los Muertos celebraciones. 

Here are some of our top choices for this weekend...

Boston families are treated to the opening of two great shows this week - Peter Pan, performed in the round, in City Hall Plaza, and The Phantom Tollbooth, Wheelock Family Theatre's musical adaptation of the classic book. These shows, plus pumpkin floats, a lantern parade, the annual Head of the Charles Regatta, and Boo at the Zoo, are just some of the many weekend options available. And be sure to check out our 20+ Free Halloween Activities for more ideas.

We’ve also launched our occasional series of preschools in the greater Boston area by highlighting five Boston nursery schools that represent different philosophies or approaches to education, plus a schedule of Open Houses that begin next week. We’d love your thoughts about other great schools to cover in our series; please drop me a line with your ideas.

Enjoy!

by Julie Marden

While the school year may still have a bit of a “back to school” feel to it, area preschools begin their open house season this month for parents trying to decide where to send their children next year. Recently, we launched our occasional series of preschools in the greater Boston area by highlighting five Boston nursery schools that represent different philosophies or approaches to education. Below is a calendar of these schools’ upcoming Open Houses and information on how to visit them. 

Being the weekend before Halloween, there's quite a bit listed on the events calendar. To make things easier for you, we've covered everything related to the holiday in a separate Halloween weekend post. You'll find family friendly events and great things to do including corn mazes and pumpkin picking.

For everything else that isn't scary or spooky this weekend read below for our family friendly picks. Fall foliage will be at its peak soon so make sure you take time out to enjoy it and there's still time for apple picking.  Feel like going to a museum in Fairfield County, we've got a few suggestions for you.  UniverSoul Circus is in town and the Danbury KidsFest is happening this Sunday.  Wishing you still had your speed skates? Take your kids to Ron A Roll for lessons on Saturday while you take a few rides around the rink yourself. This week is ADHD Awareness week and we posted great resources for anyone interested in the topic. Don't forget to like us on Facebook and Twitter where we update daily. Read more for this weekend's picks.

It's the second to last weekend before October 31, you know what that means: There's a ton of Halloween fun for New York City families, like free costume parades, no-cost festivals and more school fairs than we could ever list. There are also big annual Halloween events like the Queens Museum of Art's Boo! Spooktacular, the New York City Police Museum's Halloween Party and Central Park's Parade and Pumpkin Sail at the Harlem Meer.

If you're already feeling Halloween fatigue, there are plenty of other cool things to do this weekend that have nothing to do with ghosts, goblins or ghouls. Families can celebrate Diwali, the Hindu festival of lights at Asia Society, or head to Flushing Town Hall for a day of Colombian culture, art, music and food. The are also a bunch of cool concerts for kids, including the Little Orchestra Society's new season of classical performances, the retro R&B stylings of Shine & the Moonbeam's, Moey's power pop and the Dirty Sock Funtime Band.

And that's just a few of the great things going on this weekend. Read on for all of our picks and remember, you can find additional options in our Event Calendar and our Halloween Fun Guide.

Halloween is one of the most popular holidays of the year and we Americans like to milk it for all its worth. That's why we've done a round up of the spooky fun that is happening all over CT this weekend. For even more fun check out our posts on Halloween Train Rides, Pumpkin Patches and Corn Mazes in CT. For those in Fairfield County there's more events listed here. Events will continue to be added to the calendar so check back often. Some activites are free and others may not be age appropriate for your little ones. Check the listing for more details. Have fun choosing that perfect pumpkin for carving, making your own scarecrow or getting scared to death. You can do it all this weekend! Read more for a break down of events happening Friday through Sunday.

Old time Halloween fun, street fairs and fall festivals all await you and your family this weekend. If you'd prefer to take in some theater, The Little Mermaid and Goodnight Moon are some terrific options. We’ve got these fun events and more including a bat workshop and a workshop on wood. Read on to make your weekend plans. 

It's all Halloween all the time here in New Jersey and the events are flying fast and furious (on brooms, even.) Here are a few more haunted houses, a haunted firehouse, a few haunted towns, a scary aquarium and even a frightening cake contest. I'm terrified. Especially of the baked goods.